No. 6 Bulldogs Finish Eighth at National Dinghy Championships

Joseph Morris and Blair Belling (Photo by Rob Migliaccio).

Jun 01, 2011

Bulldogs Close Out 2010-2011 Season

CASCADE LOCKS, Ore.— On the final day of the ICSA National Dinghy Championships, the No. 6 Yale coed sailing team moved up a place, finishing eighth. After a long week on the Columbia River Gorge, the Bulldogs' 2010-2011 season is now complete.

Unlike many other days, the wind actually remained over night, allowing the sailors to immediately get on the water this morning. The sailors did not even mind the low temperature and spitting rain, because at the end of the day wind is more important than warmth or dryness. In the afternoon, the sailors were able to get a bit of all three. The breeze built and the sun came out for a bit, but some were unable to stay dry as they flipped in the breeze. Four races were sailed in A division with six in B division, bringing the regatta total to 14 races.

Junior captain Joseph Morris skippered the A division boat to a tenth place finish, only two points out of eighth. Morris and a tag team of crews collected one win and eight top-ten finishes over the 14 races. Morris sailed with crews senior Blair Belling, sophomore Claire Dennis, freshman Eugenia Custo Grieg and sophomore Heather Mary.

Freshman Chris Segerblom skippered the B division boat in 11 races with sophomore Cam Cullman skippering the remaining three. They and their team of crews finished eighth, only eight points out of fifth, with nine top tens. Cullman and Segerblom sailed with crews freshman Amanda Salvesen, senior Elizabeth Brim, Custo Grieg and May.

While the Bulldogs had a disappointing end to the season, the 2010-2011 season was certainly a successful one. Some highlights include Cullman's third place finish at the Singlehanded Nationals, a second place finish at the ICSA Western Semifinal and a second place finish at the New England Team Race Championship. The Bulldogs qualified for both National Championships and ended up second in the Fowle Trophy standings which is awarded to the best overall team in college sailing and is determined by results from the six national championships as well as the Coed Semifinal championships. Morris was named an Honorable Mention All American skipper while Belling and Brim were named All American crews.

With only two seniors on the team, the Bulldogs will return an incredibly strong group in the fall and are sure to once again be a team to beat. While the Bulldogs will spread across the country for the summer, come August they will be back on the Long Island Sound, gearing up for another season of college sailing.